A Fashionable Foodie Time & A Food Gal Giveaway

If you’ve strolled around San Jose’s Santana Row, you know it’s a mecca for designer boutiques and happening restaurants.

And what could be better than shopping at your leisure for an afternoon, then resting your weary feet and arms afterward at a swank table set with wine and food?

Fashionable foodies can enjoy both those pastimes at Santana Row’s “Fall Fashion in the Park” on Sept. 8. Two runway shows will take place, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sept. 8, showcasing autumn and winter looks for men and women from Santana Row retailers.

A wine and hors d’oeuvre reception will precede the fashion show, which also will feature a private shopping boutique and post-show bash.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a pair of general admission tickets to the 3 p.m. fashion show at Santana Row. Entries, limited to those who can make it to Santana Row that afternoon of Sept. 8, will be accepted through midnight PST Aug. 25. Winner will be announced Aug. 27.

How to win?

Just tell me about a time when you outdid yourself to be a fashionable foodie. Most memorable answer wins the tickets.

Here’s my own answer to that question:

“A few years ago, I scored an exquisite designer cocktail dress off the sale rack. It was a steal and one of those transformative pieces of clothing that somehow made me look taller, slimmer and regal — what every woman wants, right? It fit like a glove. But the drawback was it had no give whatsoever, no smidgeon of Lycra, no iota of stretch. Which meant I couldn’t ever gain any weight to fit into it. Also, it meant that I somehow had to accommodate the mega calories I’d be consuming whenever I wore it out to dinner. This spring, I was determined to wear that dress for my birthday dinner at Le Bernardin in New York. As I was getting ready for dinner, my husband helped zip me up. He got the zipper within four inches of the top of the dress and mumbled, ‘Uh, this is kinda tight.’ Apparently, I’d been a little overzealous at the gym lately and my upper back had grown broader. Curses. I sucked in whatever I could and implored him to just gently zip it up. That did the trick, even if initially, I could barely breathe. Of course, I had a spare dress that I could have worn instead that had a little more forgiveness to it. But no, I was determined to wear this one, darn it. And somehow it all worked out — I wore the dress, it was comfortable enough in the end, and I even managed to indulge in the multi-course chef’s tasting menu without splitting a seam.”

Daphne Turner, who wrote, “My parents still live by themselves in the house where I grew up so I am reminded of this story each time I return to southern Vermont to visit them. My dad is 94 and never lets me forget his walk with me on the grass around that house nearly 60 years ago. I was a toddler and he carried me around the yard to show me the areas where it was safe for me to play as there was no fence. He walked all around the perimeter of the house and pointed out each area where I could play. When we finished our rounds, to be sure I understood the limits he had painstakingly set out for me he asked, “Now tell Daddy where you can play.” Without hesitation I answered, “Up and down the wallpaper!” I got a little spanking that day but I really did know what part of the grass in our yard was okay to play on and I always loved playing outside as a kid. Thanks for bringing up those memories.”